


The Brightness of Stars

by WhatTheHanz



Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dragon Ball Super - Freeform, Dragon Ball Z - Freeform, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Saiyans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 09:55:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19439059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatTheHanz/pseuds/WhatTheHanz
Summary: Hoping to spare his family should the Saiyans fail against Frieza, Bardock sends Gine and Kakarot to Earth.Gine builds a life with her son, hoping that Bardock will come for them.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Merging the parts I like from the original Bardock: Father of Goku and the beginning of Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
> 
> Of course it's an AU, so I'll just be making things up!

_ "We'll see you really soon," Gine stated, the tears in her eyes not dampening her resolve. She pushed as close to the pod's rounded window as possible, wanting to memorize as much of her youngest child's sweet face as she could. _

_ Startled by the brush of Bardock's lips against the nape of her neck, she barely registered his words, "I'll see you and Kakarot soon, Gine." _

_ He kissed the sensitive skin, and before the woman could turn around to question the warrior, there was a heavy thud to her neck. Before Gine's body could hit the ground, he caught her.  _

_ Quickly, he opened the pod and settled her into it as comfortably as he could. Gine’s presence soothed Kakarot’s desperate sobs.. _

_ Closing the hatch, Bardock watched as the launch sequence initiated. Soon, his son would join his wife in dreamless hyper sleep, to awake on a safer world. _

_ "I love you Gine, Kakarot. Be strong and survive."  _


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gine and Kakarot are found by Grandpa Gohan.

Gohan walked through the woods later in the night than originally planned. He had spent the last week with the Ox King, his former martial arts peer and friend, participating in the formal mourning rituals of Fire Mountain. 

The Lady of Fire Mountain had passed after an unexpected bout of varicella had swept through the region. She had volunteered in the sick ward, tending to her people, insisting it was her royal obligation to care for them in their time of need. When the ominous rash appeared on her skin, the entire kingdom had gone into a state of upheaval. She had been treated by prestigious physicians, but none had been able to pull her back. 

Gohan worried deeply for Ox. The large man had been rambunctious when they were young men together. His strong-willed wife had managed to redirect his energy to the discipline and duty required of a ruler. But at her loss, the man's grief had oscillated between deep sorrow and rage. The old man prayed that the presence of his young daughter would keep him on the right path.

The old man paused, looking up at the sky to send a prayer to the heavens for his friend and daughter. His eyes lingered though, entranced by the bright night sky. The moon was full and the stars seemed exceptionally vibrant. One in particular seemed to burn with an intensity that outshone its peers. After a few moments observation, he realized the star was getting closer. Gohan quickly moved to a clear outcropping of cliff to better see the celestial event.

Living a remote life away from the city, he had seen countless falling stars, their majesty never lost on him. However, the closer the meteorite came to the surface, the stranger it seemed to him. The ground boomed in shock as the object struck. Gohan estimated it had only landed a couple of miles away. He would check out the impact site to appease his curiosity. 

Walking at a brisk pace, he managed to arrive in about forty-five minutes and peered into the impact crater. He was stunned. Instead of lumpy piece of space rock, there was a metal looking orb with what appeared to be a window.

The old martial artist slid skillfully down the side of the hole. Peering through the window, he could see a curled up form on a cushioned chair. He wrenched at what appeared to be the door, hoping he hadn't arrived too late. Finally, the hatch jerkily opened with the sound of an unsteady hydraulic hiss. 

He reached in and removed the body of a young woman. There was blood slowly oozing from a gash across her head, and more had congealed into her thick hair. She groaned in discomfort from being touched. 

"Miss, miss!" he called, gently shaking her, hoping to get her to wake up. Closer, he could see bruises blooming across her arms and chest. There was a disturbing bulge swelling on her left arm. The woman slowly opened unfocused eyes. "It's okay, I'm here to help," Gohan said, hoping she would understand. 

" _ Kakarot… _ " the word rasped from her mouth. Her body relaxed from its protective curl, revealing a small child. He could only guess that she had used her body to protect it from impact. 

Without warning, the woman sat up, grunting in pain, her eyes locking on the full moon, panic across her face. " _ Kakarot! _ " she repeated, trying to shield him with her body again. 

Before Gohan could ask the injured woman what was happening, a growl reverberated through the air. She was thrown aside as the child began to transform from a chubby toddler into a giant beast. 

The fighter gathered her into his arms, more concerned about getting her away from the monster than minding her injuries. She cried out in pain, drawing the monster's attention. It lurched towards them, appearing uncoordinated. Gohan decided he needed to disable the beast if he was to get the woman to safety. 

He set her down and fell into a fighting stance before her. Facing the monster, he could see it appeared to be a giant monkey with an elongated snout full of predatory teeth, red eyes, and pointed ears. Gohan striked at the creature, hoping to drive it back. If it fell in the crater, it might knock itself out and he could get the woman to safety. 

Behind him, the woman yelled at him in a language he had never heard before. Her words distracted him enough that he was almost crushed under the giant's foot. He began to charge up a ki attack.

Almost too fast to see, the woman had rushed past him, seemingly oblivious to her injuries, and repeated the word again. " _ Kakarot!"  _ Apparently it had some meaning to the beast, as its attention shifted from Gohan to her. She lunged at it, striking the monster in the back of the knee so that it fell forward. From her own hands, a small point of ki formed. She used it to slice off the beast's tail.

Instantly, the monster began to shrink, the hair covering its body receding away and the muzzle pushing back into a human face with round ears. In its place, a child lay unconscious on the ground. The woman scooped him up into her arms, crying while she covered his cheeks and forehead in kisses. After a moment though, her strength gave out, and she collapsed to her knees. 

It was then that Gohan saw the woman had a tail, too. In his myriad of adventures and travels, he had never seen anything like what had transpired tonight. 

The woman began to tip forward, only barely managing to keep her face from smashing into the ground. Whatever these people were, it was clear she needed help. 

Gohan lifted her up, one arm under her knees, the other around her shoulder. She used her less injured arm to hold the child against her chest.

It would be a long walk to Mount Paozu.

**A/N:**   


I probably shouldn't be writing a fanfic when I have two other WIPs, but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The scene in DBS bothered me because THERE WAS ROOM FOR TWO, BARDOCK.

Anyway, this should be pretty short. I hope you enjoy it!


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan does his best to accommodate his strange new house guests. 
> 
> *Not beta'ed. All errors are solely mine and feel free to point them out lol*

It had been five days since Gohan had carried the mysterious woman and child through the night to his hut on Mount Paozu. The woman had yet to wake, but was recovering at an unusually fast rate. The dark bruises were mere shadows on her skin, and the gaping head wound had almost completely scarred into a delicate, inflamed line of flesh.

The old man had done his best to administer field medicine, not knowing if it was safe to try to take her to a doctor when she had a tail, the potential possibility of transforming into a rampaging beast, and didn't seem to speak the local language. He had been the most concerned about setting the broken bone in her arm, and fretted that too much time had elapsed. He wouldn't be able to assess until she awoke, though.

The child was another matter of difficulty. The martial artist had taken to calling him "Goku," after seeing the pudgy child transform into a giant ape. Goku stayed close to the woman, Gohan guessed she was his mother, and was quite aggressive whenever he approached too closely, recklessly attacking him with sloppy, primitive strikes. He had discovered the boy was distracted easily enough by food, but his appetite was prodigious and the old man's food reserves were depleting. He would have to leave soon to gather more supplies.

He debated the best course of action. He wasn't sure when, or if, the woman would wake. And while Goku mostly stayed near her, he was an unusually strong and aggressive child. Who knew what trouble the toddler could get into if left alone? Would the child decide to flee and turn into a monster again?

Finally, Gohan concluded that he couldn’t risk the remote homes and lives of the other people domiciled on the mountain and would have to take the child with him to gather more food. He would just use the last of the reserves to lure the little boy away from his mother and keep Goku as well behaved as possible.

A part of him knew it was deeply foolish, but on the off chance the woman awoke and had some knowledge of his language, he left her note that he had taken Goku to get food. As an afterthought, he scribbled a little picture of him and Goku surrounded by trees, with big smiles to indicate there was no ill intent. Gohan threw a small piece of jerky across the room to distract the boy and placed his note as close to the woman's hand as possible. Satisfied, the martial artist directed his attention to the next task.

He pulled some loaves of bread from a cupboard and waved them to get Goku’s attention. Predictably, the boy came forward, nostrils flaring repeatedly as he sniffed the air. The old man settled a large carrying basket over his shoulders and walked away, carefully listening for the patter of the still uncoordinated boy’s feet to indicate he was following. 

As the day progressed, Gohan was surprised at how useful the child’s company was. While the martial artist focused on gathering berries, roots, and other plants, Goku’s natural aggression resulted in several animals being caught by the boy. Gohan would break off a piece of the bread and exchange it for the animals the boy had caught, placing them into a carefully sealed bag to prevent contamination. 

Quickly, the basket was reaching its capacity. Gohan pulled the remaining bread loaf out and waved it in the air again, hoping the smell would catch the boy’s attention again. However, Goku was too occupied with stalking squirrels and birds. With a huff, Gohan moved closer, again trying to waft the smell towards the boy. He was met with the same result; the child was too busy terrorizing small animals to care. Wanting to return soon in case the woman awoke and didn’t understand his message, he finally grabbed the child around the waist to carry him home. This caught Goku’s attention, and for a little while Gohan was able to appease his pugnacious temperament by giving him chunks of bread to eat. Eventually though, he began to run out and the child began to struggle in his grasp, growling and gnashing his teeth in his irritation. 

A martial artist he was, but even Gohan could only maintain his balance for so long between the heavy basket on his back the thrashing child against his hip. Eventually, to catch himself from falling, he had to release the feral boy. Goku lunged away at the chance, but was not coordinated enough to land successfully. The boy bounced hard on the ground, struck his head, and rolled into a ditch until his limp body came to a stop.

"Shit!" the old man yelled, breaking his own rules about polite language and chucking the basket to the side. He quickly jogged to the boy, but when he reached him, the child was already sitting up, rubbing the crown of his head gingerly. Without thought, the old man grabbed the child and began to inspect him for anymore injuries. 

With a shock, he realized the boy was submitting to his ministrations. Goku went so far as to turn to Gohan and smile. The old man paused, suspicious of the sudden change, but the chubby child stood up and took the old man's hand, happy smile remaining in place.

He wasn't sure what the abrupt change in demeanor meant, but he sighed in relief. At least Goku appeared unharmed aside from a bump raising on the back of his head. He retrieved the discarded basket and walked back to the hut slowly, shortening his strides to match the child's walking next to him.

* * *

In what seemed to be becoming a pattern, was later than he had planned when they made it home, but Gohan was too content with the now happy toddler at his side to worry. 

As the duo approached, the door to his home flew open and the woman dashed out, the paper held tight in her right hand. Her left arm was held awkwardly at her side. She glanced down at the note and then back at them, sighing with relief. 

The boy raced forward and hugged his mother around her legs. She lifted her injured arm higher, but still crouched down to return the sentiment, even wrapping her tail around his middle and giving the child a brief squeeze with it. Finally, she stood and disentangled herself from the boy.

She approached Gohan and bowed, her fist clenched in front of her heart. Gohan returned the gesture, although he pressed one fist against the palm of his open hand.

"E-arth?" the dark haired woman asked, her language accented, gesturing to their general surroundings. 

"Earth," the martial artist confirmed, also spreading his hands and nodding. 

A large smile spread across her lips, although there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. She blinked rapidly before touching her nose with a finger. "Gine," she proclaimed. She then touched her child on the nose and added, "Kakarot." Stepping forward, she placed a finger on Gohan's nose and waited. 

After a moment, he realized what she wanted. "Gohan," he answered. 

Her smile broadened and she repeated, "Gohan," as if testing the word in her mouth. Gine shifted her attention, sniffing the air above the basket. Gently, she slid the container off of Gohan's shoulders and examined the contents, humming to herself. After a moment, she relinquished the basket.

"Gohan," she said and pointed at the hut. She pointed at Kakarot and at the hut again. This time though she covered the boys eyes with her hand and pointed up, shaking her head vigorously, and then pointed at the house again. Finally, she pointed at the drawing of Gohan and said sternly, "Gine." She repeated the gestures once more. 

Gohan had an idea of what the woman meant. He entered his home, the odd pair behind him. He lit a few lamps and then closed the shutters tightly. Gine nodded in what appeared to be approval. 

Once again, she pointed at the drawing, then the woods, and touched herself on the nose. She spoke to Kakarot in their shared language, and then sprinted towards the woods.

The old man waited until she was out of sight before shutting the door. He turned and saw Goku waiting patiently by the basket.

"Well my boy, let's get started with what we can, shall we?" 

* * *

**A/N:**

****Please share your thoughts and feedback! I'm curious how you all feel about this so far ♡


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